We’re Chika Akinwale and Mary Wade, and we are standing to be the next City Councillors for Ely North and Ely East. The election is on Thursday 11 August 2022.

Image: Cllr Gareth Wilson (Lib Dem, Haddenham) at the new CLT development at Ovins Rise Haddenham

Proposals by Liberal Democrat councillors to increase membership of Community Land Trusts (CLTs), and renew their focus on affordable housing, have been snubbed by East Cambridgeshire Conservatives.

Mark Inskip and Lorna Dupre with Witcham Parish Councillor Julia Bibby, and Vanessa Kelly from the County Council out yesterday looking at potential locations for cycle stands in Witcham and Sutton!

Local Liberal Democrats were celebrating 20 years since the opening of Jubilee Gardens in Ely this weekend. The gardens are one of Ely’s most popular open spaces, forming an attractive green corridor between the riverside and Ely city centre. However, they might never have been created after the council sold the land for development at the start of 1999.

Good news may be on the way for a safer crossing at the BP roundabout on the  A10/A142 at Ely – judged the most dangerous in the district for pedestrians and  cyclists. 

Last October East Cambs District Council rejected Lib Dem calls to investigate civil parking enforcement to address the problems of illegal parking which blight the district. Rather than adopt the scheme used by almost every other council in England, the Tory led district council chose to call on volunteers to take on parking enforcement under the supervision of local police.

"While any steps to improve on-street parking enforcement in East Cambridgeshire are welcome, I seriously doubt relying on volunteers is going to be terribly effective" said Lib Dem Operational Services committee spokesperson councillor Mark Inskip.

The County Council’s Environment & Green Investment Committee, chaired by councillor Lorna Dupré, will receive the county’s latest carbon footprint report on Thursday 20 January.

The report includes the following comparison of carbon emissions between the Cambridgeshire districts.

The Mepal bridge on the A142 between Mepal and Chatteris will be closed for three weekends in February and March. 

The closures will run from 8:30PM on Friday to 5:00AM on Monday on the following weekends...

The East Cambridgeshire Community Fund grant application window will be open between Monday 17 January and Monday 21 February 2022.

The intention is to support the development of new or existing community services and initiatives that improve the quality of life for residents in East Cambridgeshire.

The demolition wrecking ball was taken to Mepal Outdoor Centre last month by East Cambs District Council even though their crematorium planning application has still not been approved. Both the Lead Local Flood Authority and the Waste & Minerals Planning Authority are currently objecting to the proposed development and the latest deadline of 17 December 2021 to determine the application has been missed.